The Polk County Board of Education approved a list of projects during their April combined session, including the demolition of a former school no longer in use in the middle of the county.
Board members approved a comprehensive list of spring and summer projects during the Tuesday, April 13 session that included the money to pay for the teardown of the old Fish Creek School, located on Old Cedartown Road in between Cedartown and Rockmart.
The project got underway on Monday, and a portion of the building was already demolished as of the meeting this evening.
Plans for the school property’s future had not yet been announced. Superintendent Laurie Atkins said it was time for the old unused structure to come down after decades being closed to students and faculty.
“We just felt it was an eye sore for that neighborhood and a potential danger,” Atkins said.
Along with the demolition of the old school, a lot of upgrades and additions to current campuses were announced with approval from the board of the list as well.
The most popular with students will be the purchase of new playground equipment to be installed over the summer at each elementary school campus.
Other projects included in the night’s approval of SPLOST projects for spring and summer is a new CHS cool down and bathroom facility for the tennis, football, soccer and softball teams and spectators to use in the practice field and softball area of the campus. Additionally, a new pedestrian bridge is being built as well to link the tennis courts in front of Westside Elementary to those restrooms for public use.
It mirrors a project completed at Rockmart Middle School that provided similar facilities for their teams. Rockmart High School will also be getting some tennis and soccer field upgrades in the pending projects for the late spring and summer completion.
Cedartown High School is also getting some additional parking with a lot expansion – a much needed project per Atkins that is being completed with the help of engineers and R.K. Redding Construction.
Cedartown Middle School is getting an agriculture education greenhouse, Eastside Elementary is getting a new roof – approved in a separate item from the comprehensive list because of the bid process – along with a heating and air upgrade.
Northside Elementary will be losing another modular classroom on the campus in this round of spending.
Finally, two purchases that are equipment based provide the Polk County College and Career Academy with some much-needed items. Officials determined that both a sound system and an ice maker are needed to help with programs for both the district and the community.
Atkins said the addition of the ice maker will be much appreciated by officials, who are having to collect and bag ice to use during events prior to their start.
The Eastside Elementary roof replacement upcoming this summer was voted upon as a separate item, approved with a low-bid figure of $395,450 from A&B Commercial Roofing. They were the lowest bidder among 15 companies that submitted for the job, with the highest price tag sent in at $820,984.
During the combined session, School Board Chair JP Foster also added an update from the facilities committee about ideas that the district are getting for future athletic upgrades – not in the works immediately, but providing thoughts about what might be needed for student athletes and coaches in the years to come.
They toured the facilities that have been upgraded in past months at Troup County High School and around their district in a trip in past weeks.
